‘Sands of Iwo Jima’ Cast Avoided John Wayne ‘at All Costs’ After Spending a Night With Him
Actor John Wayne earned his first Oscar nomination for his role in 1949’s Sands of Iwo Jima. Many critics and audiences considered it one of his best performances, delivering a character a bit different from the typical schtick that he brought to the silver screen. However, the Sands of Iwo Jima cast avoided Wayne after they spent a night with him.
John Wayne plays Sgt. John M. Stryker in ‘Sands of Iwo Jima’
Sands of Iwo Jima follows Marine Sgt. John Stryker (Wayne), who his own men absolutely detest. He has a rough attitude that he pushes onto his men over the course of their training. However, their perception of Stryker begins to change when they see the harsh realities unfold in the war in the Pacific. They will need every bit of their harsh training if they hope to potentially survive the battlefield.
In addition to Wayne’s Best Actor Oscar nomination, the film also earned nominations for Best Writing, Best Film Editing, and Best Sound. Sands of Iwo Jima also went down as one of the movie star’s most iconic movies, as well as a substantial feature film about war.
The ‘Sands of Iwo Jima’ cast avoided John Wayne after spending a night with him
According to an interview in Peter Bogdanovich’s Allan Dwan: The Last Pioneer, director Allan Dwan talked about his experience working with Wayne on Sands of Iwo Jima. The movie star had tension with some filmmakers, but that wasn’t the case here.
“Oh, he was fine,” Dwan said. “He came to me the second day and said, ‘You’re my kind of director,’ shook hands and that was the end–I don’t think there was a bit of friction.”
The only trouble Wayne caused on the Sands of Iwo Jima set was with his co-stars. He always had a charm that invited others in, but he tempted them into a night of drinking that didn’t go so well. Wayne was infamous for his ability to outdrink his Hollywood colleagues, which was certainly clear on this movie set. He felt fine in the mornings, but his cast members were miserable. As a result, they avoided him at all costs.
The cast listened to him
Dwan had a unique experience with Wayne on Sands of Iwo Jima that stuck with him. Some of the actors didn’t always listen to the director, although the movie star always took his job quite seriously. Therefore, he saw it necessary to stand up for Dwan. Bogdanovich asked the filmmaker if Wayne ever took a part in directing the film.
“No,” Dwan responded. “He’s particularly good at faking punches. And I let him and Forrest Tucker slug it out. They’d talk over their fight scenes and work them out. And I know one time these two kids weren’t doing exactly what I wanted and they were a little sulky about it. And all of a sudden, over my shoulder, Wayne said, ‘God damn it! Will you bastards do what he tells you!’ And they did it then. I said, ‘Thanks.’”
